Some local mental health experts question cost, consequences of new NY gun law

Monday

Jan 28, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Some local mental health leaders question the dollars — and sense — behind New York state's latest gun control legislation.

Michael Novinson

Some local mental health leaders question the dollars — and sense — behind New York state's latest gun control legislation.

In the wake of Connecticut's Newtown massacre, New York's governor and Legislature passed a set of strict new gun laws. The laws tightened restrictions on ammunition, assault weapons and mentally ill gun owners who might pose a danger to others.

Mental health officials are supposed to report suspected threats to county mental health directors, who pass the alert to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.

In turn, the state agency could direct the removal of the mentally ill person's weapons. He or she also could end up on a list which bars future purchase of weapons.

Advocacy groups said prohibiting mental health patients who've made credible threats from having a gun will increase stigma and deter treatment, while county officials wondered how they can afford the added responsibilities.

"I worry about the knee-jerk reaction to horrible, horrible events," said Lori Schneider of the Monticello-based Friends & Advocates for Mental Health.

County leaders point out they're being told to ramp up investigations into potentially violent mental health patients at the same time their budgets have been slashed. "Where are the resources coming from for this?" asked Joe Todora, who oversees Sullivan County's mental health operations.

The new provisions underestimate the role therapy can play in alleviating violent thoughts and feelings, said Darcie Miller, Orange County's mental health commissioner.

A threat is only realized after a patient with harmful inclinations has found means, developed a plan and become resistant to solving their problems a different way, Miller said.

Potential consequences also could give gun owners or their families second thoughts about discussing troubles.

"If people don't discuss their thoughts and feelings on aggressive tendencies, they're more likely to act on them," said Andrea Grunblatt, a Kingston-based psychologist.

Time also is of the essence when it comes to reporting mental abnormalities, Miller said.

Delays, such as those caused by fear of gun confiscation, can cause a dangerous mindset to become more embedded and routine — and therefore, more difficult to break.

Todora said he is comfortable with the new provision. Once a patient no longer poses a threat to others, Todora said, he or she can file a petition with the courts to get their guns back.

The price tag for counties, though, remains a question.

That will largely be dependent on the number of calls received by the counties, who is allowed to take the calls, and what counties are required to do to ascertain the credibility of a threat, Miller said.

Depending on how those questions are answered, Todora said county costs could range anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000 each year. Counties aren't slated to receive any money for implementation.

Most local experts, however, favored the provisions expanding court-ordered mental health treatment. Judges will now be allowed to order one year of outpatient care, rather than just six months.

"If somebody is really that out-of-control with their recovery, it probably would take at least a year for them to get grounded," Todora said.

He also applauds revisions that keep involuntary treatment intact even if the jurisdiction of a case changes.

But Ellen Pendegar, CEO for the Mental Health Association of Ulster County, said people typically put up resistance when coerced into treatment.

"Mental health has a piece in this," Pendegar said. "But I don't want our piece to be out of proportion."